£23,000 payout for pregnancy dismissal after one week’s service

A law firm has been ordered to pay £23,060 to a former employee after it admitted to dismissing her because of pregnancy-related illness, a tribunal has ruled.

The Employment Tribunal has ruled that the administrator was dismissed after one week of employment because she suffered from severe morning sickness.

The employer originally stated that the dismissal occurred because the employee was unreliable due to multiple absences.  because of her absences. During her first week the employee was absent from work twice – both due to morning sickness.  On the afternoon of her second absence she was dismissed by email. The conclusion of the email was that the dismissal was the result of the law firm were “unable to rely” on her.

The employee brought a claim of automatic unfair dismissal and maternity and pregnancy discrimination against the law firm, claiming the reasons it had given for her dismissal were “inadequate or untrue”. She also claimed the firm had failed to provide written particulars of her dismissal.

The tribunal awarded the employee (who had one week’s service) £23,060 for loss of earnings, injury to feelings, loss of future earnings and interest.